Brothers in Arms: A Birthday to Forget
by Devils That Cry
Summary: Pre BIA: Its the twins’ birthday, the day everything went wrong....


WE ARE STILL ALIVE...well in a fashion...I finally got all the files off my broken laptop but unfortunately the laptop has died (sob)

We ARE still working on BIA but BIA5 needs ALOT of rewriting because it doesn't seem to work well, and because we hardly see each other anymore, it makes it very hard to get time to talk about what we are doing with the series. So it is going VERY slowly.

PATIENCE PEOPLE HAVE PATIENCE

This was for the 1 year anniversary of BIA (back at the beginning of May...) the laptop died that afternoon so I couldn't transfer the file onto my computer and it took months for my cousin to get round to coming up to see if anything could be done about it. SO IT IS HIS FAULT FOR THE DELAY NOT OURS (grins innocently)

So here it is finally.

* * *

**Brothers in Arms: A Birthday to Forget**

Summary: Its the twins' birthday, the day everything went wrong...

Disclaimer: Morwen owns Vergil, Arow owns Dante, Capcom owns us all

* * *

Eva slept peacefully through the night, until her hyped up younger son came bursting into the room and woke her up bouncing on her bed. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at him tiredly. "What do you want?" she asked with a yawn.

Dante looked at her and grinned, "Can I open my prezzies yet?" he asked excitedly.

Eva sighed, "Dante, you are 21 years old now, its about time you started acting like it."

Dante pouted and looked to her with a small whine, "But mommy…"

"Go and wake your brother," she gave a resigned sigh and went downstairs pulling out cards and boxes from their hidden places and she put on the coffee machine, needing the energy to deal with her hyperactive youngest.

* * *

Vergil was woken by a prickling on the back of his neck and a creeping suspicion that he was being watched, he slowly reached under his pillow for the dagger he kept there and opened his eyes throwing it in the direction the feeling was coming from.

A loud yell soon filled the room and a disgruntled Dante huffed, a dagger lodged in his forehead, "Happy birthday to you too," he sulked and took out the weapon with a whine of pain and threw it back at his twin, but Vergil dodged and it embedded in the wall.

Vergil sighed and grumbled under his breath and curled up under the covers, not taking well to being woken up like that; especially when he had such an unsettling feeling, which was steadily growing.

"Aw c'mon V," Dante whined shaking his twin, "you know mom will make me wait until you are there as well."

It was the same every year, a hyper, still mentally childish Dante would go through the routine of waking their mother at obscene hours, (although looking at the clock, 8 am was a new record for sleeping in on a birthday), and then he would annoy Vergil until the older gave in and got out of bed.

This year was no different. Vergil gave an annoyed huff and sighed, "Fine."

Dante grinned and bounded downstairs and waited with Eva until Vergil followed moments after.

Vergil sighed as Dante was now bouncing up and down from his position on the floor, waiting impatiently, staring at the small pile of gifts he had acquired and as soon as Vergil was sat, he started tearing into them.

Eva gave an exasperated sigh and watched with a smile as the two received a lot of money from her relatives who otherwise had nothing to do with them, due to their demonic blood.

Half hour later, the room was full of empty packages and wrapping paper, Dante was now much calmer and almost asleep again.

"One more present," Eva announced and smiled and moved behind the sofa and pulled out two large boxes, "These would have been from your father had he been able to give them himself," she gave them a small sad smile.

Vergil took the thinner box, knowing what it was and picked it up carefully and looked at it reverently; he unsheathed it carefully and took a few slices to air with it.

Dante opened his own box a little quicker and pulled out Rebellion and grinned also taking a few swipes, testing its weight in his hand.

Eva smiled and started cleaning up the rubbish, "Just don't try to kill each other with them," she warned lightly.

Vergil answered her, "Don't worry mother, he couldn't get a hit on me if he tried."

Dante grinned, his excitement now renewed, "C'mon, we both know I could kick your ass to hell if I had to."

"You overestimate yourself brother," Vergil smirked.

"Back garden, ten minutes," Dante bounded upstairs to get ready.

Eva gave Vergil a dubious look.

"Don't worry mother," he said, "I'll make sure he doesn't hurt himself," he assured.

"Don't you hurt him either," she warned, "You both get over competitive when you spar."

"We'll be careful," he assured and went upstairs to get ready.

"I'll get the hospital on standby," Eva sighed with a regretting smile as the two headed out to the large garden behind the house.

* * *

The hours passed to afternoon and Eva watched her sons from the kitchen window, noting that every time one got sliced, the other would stop and check him and wait until he was healed, then the process would start over again.

She gave an exasperated sigh as the two finally came inside, a bloody trail following them, "Hold it," she called, "Limb count."

"We are fine," Vergil answered, "Nothing that hasn't healed."

Eva gave him a suspicious look a moment and checked them over, "Go on, get cleaned up, we're going out for lunch."

Vergil nodded and followed his brother up the stairs.

* * *

Dante sat bored in the restaurant, the fork to his left, spinning in its place by his hand, "I'm starving," he complained, "How long does it take to get served around here?"

Vergil and Eva gave an exasperated sigh, "You are behaving worse than a two year old," Vergil commented.

"At least they get fed," he pouted and stuck his tongue out.

Eva narrowed her eyes, "Will you two behave, you are both acting worse than two year olds so stop it. Lets just have one meal somewhere nice without incident, please," when they both nodded and kept quiet, she smiled, "Good, so are you two going out or staying in the rest of the day."

"I'm gonna go and meet some mates at the bar down the road," Dante answered, "You coming V?" he asked.

"Hm," Vergil put on a contemplative face, "Do I want to surround myself with drunk mindless imbeciles for a few hours?" he mused, "Somehow I think not."

Dante shrugged, "Suit yourself."

Eva shook her head, they were more than enough to send her insane sometimes, but she did love them, '_in small doses'_ she thought with a smile. She gave an exasperated sigh as the two continued their brotherly arguing, regardless of what she said.

* * *

Later that evening, Vergil walked back inside as it started getting dark after spending hours practicing with Yamato, he held it in one hand as he passed through the living room to the stairs, and saw Eva sitting in her favourite chair, facing away from the door.

"Mother?" he called softly and moved closer to her, he received no answer. The way her head was lolled to one side made him think she had fallen to sleep, and from his current position he could see a book open in her lap. He took the blanket from the back of the sofa and moved around and picked the book up, then looked to her face. The items in his hand fell to the floor instantly seeing her dead blue eyes staring through him lifelessly.

He stared at the body a moment, it was slow to process what he was seeing, there were no obvious marks on her, but he felt almost certain that something demonic was behind it; he touched her lightly, there was still a tiny bit of warmth in her cooling body, it must have been mere moments before he had come in. so if it was a demonic attack, then the demon could still be around somewhere…

He saw a shadow flicker on the wall and he unsheathed Yamato and went toward it and froze a moment, seeing a glimpse of white hair and burning red eyes before the demon ran off into the night.

Vergil froze a moment, staring after the demon, '_father'_ he thought but soon shook off that idea, Sparda was dead, long dead. It was probably just some glamoured low demon, trying to put them off.

He slowly made is way back inside the house, the past few minutes not sinking into his numbing mind.

* * *

Dante staggered home after one hell of a night, mostly spent in Love Planet with friends. And hot strippers. He blinked seeing flashing lights outside his house and it took a few moments to register in his beer hazed brain that there were police and an ambulance there, but as soon as it sunk in, he snapped out of his drunken stupor; his mind raced, an attack? Were his mother and Vergil alright? Were they injured?...or worse? He did not want to think about that. He stepped over the tape and saw a black body bag being loaded into the ambulance; he felt the colour drain from his face as he froze staring at it.

Vergil saw his twin standing there, looking completely shocked and he went over to him.

Dante felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to see his twin…that only left one other…he turned to his twin fully and held him close, tears starting to roll down his cheeks at the realisation that his mother was dead.

Vergil blinked at the unexpected behaviour of his twin and slowly wrapped his arms around him.

"What happened?" Dante asked when he had calmed enough and stood back from his twin a little, "Are you alright?"

Vergil nodded, "Yes." The older twin was looking calm and collected but Dante could tell by the slight twitch in his lip and the barely hidden swirl of emotion in the depths of his glacial eyes that he was barely controlling himself.

"Where were you?" Vergil asked him suddenly, with a sharp edge in his voice.

Dante blinked at the abrupt question, "In the bar, with friend."

Vergil narrowed his eyes, "Until this time?"

"Its only as late as I normally stay out," Dante argued.

"That is no excuse, you should have been here," he growled, "As she wanted, then we might have been able to do something.

"Like what?" Dante glared, "Get killed with her? That would have helped, you were there anyway, and you did nothing to stop whatever it was."

"I did not know," Vergil ground out, his impassive mask almost cracking.

"Neither did I," Dante retorted, as tears welled in his eyes again, "You did not even think to call me, she's dead and you wouldn't even pick up the phone. Thoughtless bastard."

Vergil sighed, "Dante…" he placed a hand on the younger's shoulder.

Dante glared, "Stay away from me," he shoved his twin hard into the wall and stormed inside.

* * *

Week later and the twins had not spoken to each other, and every time Dante had tried talking to his twin, Vergil had just ignored him, and was becoming far too distant and secretive for Dante's liking.

Dante sighed as he finished awkwardly sorting his tie out and looked in the mirror, he looked good in suits, but he hated wearing them. He saw Vergil walk past the door and down the stairs, a silent signal that he was ready and waiting for Dante. Dante sighed hearing the older pace in the hall impatiently so he pulled on his jacket and went downstairs, and picked up the keys, which were then snatched out of his hand by Vergil who stalked ahead out of the house and into the car, Dante followed with a dejected sigh.

Vergil hadn't even tried talking with him, barely even looked at him; he returned the attention he was given, with an icy glare of his own; they were becoming very distant with each other and Dante was very uncomfortable with it.

* * *

Vergil dropped Dante at home before driving straight off again without a word; the older twin's silence and secrecy was starting to worry Dante, he even locked his bedroom door when he wasn't home, hiding something, which Dante suspected was incriminating, he wanted to know what was behind the locked door, and luckily he was a lock pick extraordinaire.

Five minutes later he was snooping around Vergil's room, searching for anything that would give him some clue as to what was going on in his brother's head. He found several books with what looked like detailed notes and information on locations of demonic portals, one closed book caught his attention, 'In Search for Sparda's Power,' he frowned a moment, and flicked through, it was apparent that it was written by some mythological expert, but that was beside the point as it became apparent on what Vergil was planning on doing.

"What are you doing in here?" Vergil demanded sharply, snatching the book and his notes away as he glared at his twin darkly.

Dante backed off, for the first time, he was terrified of his twin, "I'm just worried about you Vergil," he answered.

Vergil scoffed a moment, "You shouldn't be," he gave his twin a cold, twisted smile, "You won't have to worry about anything soon…"

The room temperature felt like it had dropped a hundred below zero to Dante, "What?" it came out as a pathetic squeak, "Ver…"

"Everything will be sorted out soon," Vergil said as he picked up Yamato and walked out of the room, and eventually out of the house; leaving Dante standing in his room, dumbstruck, not realising it would be a year before they saw each other again.

* * *

Another ficlet that was saved from the laptop shall be posted shortly as well 


End file.
